Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Last week was chocolate. This week it’s lemon. A highlight of my week is fast becoming Tuesdays with Dorie! And lemon tart is a favorite in our home!

Meyer lemons versus regular lemons

Given that I live in Canada and Meyer lemons don’t grow on trees up here (at least not outside in the frigid winters we have), I thought I would forgo the 100-mile diet and try to get some Meyer lemons to test this recipe a bit. I was able to find some beautiful Meyer lemons shipped here from California, land of milk and honey, or at least Meyer lemons and other yummy fruit. I wanted to do a taste test with regular lemons and Meyer lemons to see which lemon tart we liked best.

Meyer lemons are a cross between a traditional lemon and an orange, possibly a mandarin. It was introduced to the United States by “agriculture explorer” Frank Meyer. How do you go about getting a job as an “agriculture explorer”, I wonder? Meyer lemons are smaller, rounder, and have a more orange-y, less tart flavor.

A cookie crustFor the crust, I thought I’d try the pâte sablée with walnuts from Dorie’s cookbook. The combination of the slightly bitter walnuts with the citrus of lemon and the sweetness of the tart sounded too good to pass up. I was not disappointed. The crunch of the cookie-crust held up well as finger food even. The dough was dry at first, but I added a few fingertips of water to bring it together, and it rolled out fine.

One tip I’ve gleaned from all my research is to roll the dough out onto the removable base of the tart pan. Then, replace the rim and pinch the dough up the sides. That way, you know how large the pastry needs to be for your tart or pie pan.

GarnishesI had some fun with garnishes for this recipe. I melted some leftover couverture chocolate from last week’s Tuesdays with Dorie and made chocolate hearts.

I also made some citrus rinds steeped in syrup. First I boiled 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water until the sugar was melted. Then, I added slices of lemons, Meyer lemons, and kumquats, and a vanilla bean split open and scraped. I gently boiled this mixture for a bit, and then let it steep for 4 hours and refrigerated it until I was ready to use it. Not only do they look good, but they taste delicious.

RecipeYou can find the recipe for The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart at this blog (Starting from Scratch) or in the book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. To see how the rest of the TWD group fared with this week's recipe, click here and then click on each blogger!

Hollandaise versus Lemon CurdOne last thing I wanted to try after making this recipe was Hollandaise sauce. The technique provided in Dorie’s cookbook as given to her by the famous pastry chef Pierre Hermé made me think of Hollandaise sauce. Both Hollandaise and Lemon curd have the same flavor profile: emulsified eggs and butter with a splash of lemon. But one has sugar and more lemon while the other has savory spices and water. So, after making the lemon tarts, I tried following the same technique to make a Hollandaise sauce using these ingredients:

First, in a stainless steel sauce pan, I whisked the eggs, lemon juice, water, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper over medium heat until it came to 180°F. At around 160°F I quickly pulled it off the heat since it looked like it was about to curdle. But I bravely put it back on the heat and whisked madly so that it wouldn’t curdle. The second it hit 180°F, I quickly poured it into the food processor (since my blender broke during the making of the lemon tarts!) and let it cool a bit. Then I added the butter in chunks, and just like that I had a beautiful, creamy, emulsified Hollandaise sauce. Easy as pie!

Tasting NotesThis tart is amazing. I preferred the sweetness and orange hint of the Meyer lemon tart, but others liked the more citrus lemon flavor of the traditional lemon tart. The Meyer lemon curd was less firm than the regular lemon curd, which had a texture similar to butter. Although it didn’t take away from the taste, I’m wondering why the Meyer lemon curd didn’t get as firm. If anyone has some ideas about why, let me know. Does it have something to do with the pectin levels in each? After spending the night in the refrigerator, the Meyer lemon curd was a firm consistency, however. This is definitely a keeper recipe, in any case.

Your tarts turned out lovely! I love all the different ways you presented them. I chose to make the orange version and was pleased with it as well, even if it didn't turn out exactly as I had envisioned!

Very pretty, indeed. Your Meyer/Traditional lemon comparison was really interesting. Meyer lemons went into my filling, which was rather thin--but it thickened up nicely in the end. Loved the shape, too!

I did not expect anyhting less stunning from you...they are indeed gorgeous! That lemon cream is on rotation at our house we love it so much with everything, it enhances a simple fruit salad beautifully!